SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- The Little League World Series is a few months away but the Little League Museum in South Williamsport is nearly ready for its opening day.
On Thursday, the museum received a couple of exhibits that date back to the founding of the worldwide youth sports organization.
All this history inside the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum in South Williamsport is getting a new look. A $4 million dollar museum renovation project is nearly complete.
Little League President Steve Keener says shortly after the World Series last August, the museum closed for upgrades.
"The museum was antiquated. Many of the exhibits needed a complete overhaul because of the technologies that were used. So rather than put Band-Aids on it, we felt we ought to really start over and take a whole new approach," said Little League President Steve Keener.
Two of the newest additions are a first base bag and a homemade home plate on loan to the museum from the family of Carl Stotz. Stotz is the founder of Little League.
"It wasn't something people went to the store and purchased, that it had to be made, developed. I'm so proud of my parents," said Karen Stotz Myers.
"He kept everything, as we've gotten to know his family and built relationship, felt his memorabilia should be on display here," Keener added.
"There's all sorts of history at the newly-renovated Little League Museum. Little League itself is coming up on 75 years in existence. If it were not for the tearing down of the Berlin Wall the game would not have spread into eastern Europe the way it did to bring more boys and girls to the world's stage in South Williamsport to play baseball.
"The response so far has been people saying 'we can't believe this is the same place that was here a year ago.'"
The all-new Little League Museum in South Williamsport is scheduled to reopen in Mid-June.